And, of course, The Novel

Yes, like half the planet, I’m working on The Novel. At the moment, it has taken a very long time, largely because I don’t write chunks of it for a while. This may be the ultimate secret: if I want to get the novel written, I’ll have to keep writing it. Why did it take so long for me to work this out?

There’s a story of the novice who came to stay at a Zen monastery, and asked for enlightenment. “Have you eaten?” said the Head Monk. “Yes” replied the novice.
“Then you had better wash out your rice bowl” was the reply. At that moment the novice was enlightened.

The first three chapters of the novel have been off to famous agents (aim high) and have come back with beautifully and carefully written rejection letters. These people are business like, and have an eye to what they can sell, but also very kind.

Oh well, maybe one day…